GROpinion
APC Enugu State Chapter: Who Will Bell the cat?


BY: Amb. Mrs. Ginika Tor-Williams (Deputy Governorship Aspirant, APC Enugu State) 2019.
The Presidential elections have come and gone, leaving in its trail a lot of dust. Gratefully our Presidential flag bearer, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, emerged victorious in a keenly contested election. Like in every contest there must be victors and losers. We felicitate with him and all APC candidates that won seats in the National Assembly and State elections and give kudos to those who tried but were not lucky this time around. One thing pretty clear is that those that lost put up a good fight and they live to give another shot at it in the near future. To God be all the glory!
Now election is over the question now is: what is the fate of APC Enugu state chapter, as the dust of the Presidential, National Assembly, Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in the state settles down?
Put differently, what are the chances of APC in Enugu state going by its poor outing in the state where the APC Presidential candidate could not garner the mandatory 25% of votes cast, lost Guber, National and State Assemblies seats 100% to PDP?
Anyone’s guess is as good as mine but the fate of APC Enugu state chapter is indeed disheartening. As a dedicated Party person, I recall the zeal and commitment exhibited by all authentic APC members and supporters in the state prior to Sen. Ayogu Eze appearing on the APC scene.
The APC family in Enugu state was cohesive and hopeful of a good showing in all her elections until Sen. Ayogu Eze, an erstwhile PDP stalwart and an Abuja Politician, deceived our Party leaders to allow him join the party on the pretext that he has the financial muscle and popularity to deliver Enugu State to APC in the February/ March 2019 elections. Since Ayogu Eze joined the party, APC Enugu State has not remained the same again. His politics is divisive and acrimonious and his penchant to grab everything has alienated the vast majority of APC members in the state which triggered widespread disenchantment amongst APC supporters and hence the poor showing of the party during the Presidential and National Assembly polls.
Going down memory lane, I joined APC out of my desire to impact my community and change the conditions of living of my people whom I cherish so much.
It was a very difficult decision but I was determined to make a difference. I personally spent my hard earned money to stage an impressive open declaration to join APC Enugu in my hometown of Amoli Enyimba in Awgu LGA, promoted our party APC in a remarkable way and this singular action of mine incurred the wrath of AIT TV management who frustrated my ongoing TV programming with them by altering my airtime from Saturday 10pm to Thursday 11:30pm without notice.
This caused me to lose so much viewership and customers which I am yet to recover till date. Finally, AIT increased the cost of my airtime astronomically in order to frustrate me from airing the program in response to my joining a rival political party.
Secondly, in my quest to represent the good people of Awgu/Aninri/Oji River Federal Constituency I committed my personal resources by visiting all the 41 wards in my constituency; visited the LGA Executives of the party in the 3 local government Areas; organized a football championship for the youths of the 3 local government areas; organized an exercise/health delight for women in my Constituency and held an impactful summit and football championship for the youths of my constituency.
Furthermore, I organized numerous other events to promote our party in the state, attended several party events in and out of my constituency and senatorial district to enhance the visibility of our party. All these were at the great expense of my business, which I abandoned for weeks in order to participate in the ward, local government and state congresses.
Needless to say I ran my race for the position of House of Representatives for Awgu/Aninri/Ojiriver Federal Constituency with dedication, vigor and determination only to be asked by the party leaders in the state to step down for another candidate and inspite of my soaring profile as a grassroots mobilizer I agreed to allow peace to reign. However, I felt betrayed when my ticket was handed to an unknown person who had just joined the party with Ayogu Eze contrary to my understanding that the ticket was to be given to the candidate from Aninri LGA. This was the beginning of backstabbing and erosion of confidence, which was perpetrated by Sen. Ayogu Eze and his camp of traitors. At least, if you have an agreement with someone courtesy demands that you honor it and if there is a reason to change same it is only proper that you inform such a person.
The one that finally broke the camel’s back was that I was informed by APC Enugu State leadership that I was being strongly considered for Deputy Governorship slot to challenge the rival Party’s Man/Woman ticket in the state only to be shortchanged in the process for an unpopular man as the Deputy Governorship slot without dialogue. But as God would have it I was sought after to deputize a man who values competence above mediocrity, Barr. George Tabugbo Ogara. When God does a thing he does not share his glory with anyone!
Since joining APC in the State Sen. Ayogu Eze has never taken steps to unite the party. He has rather fueled crisis and divisiveness, via an unholy alliance with Mrs Juliet Ibekaku Nwagwu. With Juliet who was the leader of the Okey Ogbodo faction where I proudly belong now, Ibekaku was appointed by the Minister of Foreign affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama to attend a negotiation meeting with Ben Nwoye faction so they can arrive at an agreement that will end faction in APC Enugu but Ibekaku in her desperation negotiated only to secure her senatorial ticket abandoning her group, therefore truncated the Minister’s desire to end faction. Ayogu made sure that the two factions in Enugu widened irretrievably. He joined the party with some of his friends from PDP and arm-twisted the party to allocate tickets to some of these friends of his who had contested primaries in PDP and lost before defecting to APC. These are the people now working against our party in the state and causing us electoral misfortunes.
The authentic APC members in Enugu state were sidelined and dumped by Sen. Ayogu Eze. A house divided against itself cannot stand. It is instructive that when the members of APC reconciliation committee visited Enugu State, Sen. Ayogu Eze was advised to place calls to the aggrieved members and pacify them but he refused because he has been brainwashed with the supremacy of party leaders undermining the strength of genuine members of APC Enugu State.
The Presidential campaign visit provided yet another golden opportunity to Sen. Ayogu Eze to mend fences and reunite the APC in Enugu state but he failed woefully.
The Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama did all that is humanly possible to downplay any feuds by providing over 70% of the funds for the activities yet allowed Sen, Ayogu Eze to take charge as it were in order to create an atmosphere of friendship by attending joint meetings even though we were already in court challenging our stolen mandate at the primaries.
Our resolve was not to wash our dirty linen before our National Leader who also tried his best to foster peace among the factions during the Presidential campaign visit. He succeeded momentarily as we all obliged his request and co-operated with the Sen. Ayogu Eze’s team to achieve massive turnout and well organized outing but that effort was truncated by Ayogu Eze’s and his team who totally failed to acknowledge the efforts of our team and even that of the Hon. Minister but took all the credit.
Sen. Ayogu Eze never launched his campaign and never toured the LGAs of the state. Everything points to an orchestrated plan to foist Sen. Ayogu Eze on Enugu APC in order to weaken it and cause us to lose the state to PDP, record has it that he has never invested in APC even during the primaries because he was foist on us.
The only visible campaign in the state was the touring of the 17 local government Areas of Enugu state by Honourable Minister Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, accompanied by D.G of VON, Mr. Osita Okechukwu and all members of Kwusike Political family, an all-inclusive political platform, brainchild initiative of Mr. Onyeama, where of course record has it that on the first visit, Sen. Ayogu Eze sent his thugs to disrupt the rally meant for President Muhammadu Buhari and all APC candidates.
President Muhammadu Buhari fared so poorly in Enugu State compared with Abia State in Eastern Nigeria. Abia State has an incumbent PDP governor, just like Enugu state and Abia State APC also has factional issues yet they were able to deliver one Senatorial seat to APC ,won some House of Representatives and Assembly seats as well as secured over 40% votes for President Muhammadu Buhari because they carried out aggressive campaign rallies round the state, organized an impressive Gubernatorial campaign flag off, which unveiled all other candidates of APC then they sustained it with vigorous LGA campaigns but the reverse is the case in Enugu State; no Guber campaign flag off, No LGA campaigns, rather Sen Ayogu Eze and his camp are preoccupied with chasing after campaign funds only to share amongst among themselves, smile to the bank and disappear, and wait for the next tranche. They have zero passion to deliver votes for our candidates. The result is what we are seeing today!
It must be noted that Sen. Ken Nnamani also tried again to unite both sides by ensuring that both factions get half of the campaign fund to collectively deliver votes for President Buhari and other APC candidates through agents, instead of acknowledging his efforts and appreciating him, the Ayogu Eze team went to town trying so hard to blackmail him and of course their plan worked, as they succeeded in deceiving Adams Oshimnhole to release the next fund in the tune of over One Hundred & Fifty Million which of course it was obvious that Ayogu used to finally file for appeal against an authentic Guber candidate Barr. Tabugbo Ogara.
As if all these atrocities are not enough, the Ayogu Eze group obtained the second tranche of campaign funds from APC National but yet again neglected the other side as well kept the fund to themselves hence the poor result recorded by Enugu State.
Despite this, I and some members of our camp worked tirelessly recorded success in our polling units. I delivered my polling unit for President Buhari by over 40%(30% for PMB in my Community Amoli,Enyinma and 30% in my ward 9).
I visited the 10 polling units in my community and 4 communities in my ward with my election duty car sticker and tag and spent my personal money since we were starved of funds but I couldn’t allow, my political family and PMB to be disgraced in my community.
Sen. Ayogu Eze’s Deputy couldn’t even deliver President Buhari in his polling booth, yet he parades himself as Deputy Governorship candidate. Large numbers of our team successfully delivered PMB in their polling units while those with stolen mandates ended up at INEC office in protest ( hmmmmmm).
From all indications, Sen. Ayogu Eze and his team are working for PDP. For instance, Mr. Okey Ogbodo/Ogara faction gave ticket to only APC faithfuls irrespective of their status while the faction led by Mr. Ben Nwoye/Ayogu faction foisted losers of PDP primaries on the APC in Enugu State. Also, Barr. Tabugbo Ogara of Ogbodo faction picked a woman loved by the masses and better positioned to challenge the rival party’s ticket as Deputy, while Ayogu Eze chose an unpopular man as deputy against all good counsel. Embattled Ogara spent so much money seeking for justice (fund he would have ordinarily put into campaign while awaiting support from Presidency).
The Party cabal that supported Ayogu, couldn’t even put in a dime to herald campaign with all the time he was availed and support he enjoyed, Ogara personally provided his campaign office in a strategic location while Ayogu waited for party leaders to donate a campaign office.
Ogara branded over 20 hummer buses months before the primaries with the pictures of President Muhammadu Buhari on them while Ayogu even after he was foisted on APC faithful, couldn’t brand a car until one of the leaders donated 10 buses which he also attached 10 driver to who will everyday return the buses back to his designated location (I laugh). Ogara has been an APC faithful who played a vital role in APC before 2015 election as well as handled and won numerous cases in favour of APC till date while Ayogu on the other hand was in PDP frustrating APC only to emerge a month to primaries to steal our mandate. With these few points of mine, who is still in doubt now that Sen. Ayogu Eze and his team only joined APC to destroy all that we have labored for?
As for those who lost in the National Assembly elections, starting from Senate to House of Representatives, they should have known before that pride heralds the fall of a man, irrespective of who you perceive yourself to be.
They should have consulted widely and met everyone necessary in a zone or constituency where they were seeking to be elected but they were so full of themselves so they ignored people as if they don’t matter, not taking cognizance of the fact that the actual APC members were the ones passing through persecution while the people they are working with (people who lost PDP primaries who were given APC tickets) only have structures under PDP therefore may not have genuine persons to deliver them, so they played into the hands of the PDP moles and of course the result was absolute failure.
Then they went further to embarrass us by constituting nuisance at the INEC office accepting defeat even before results were announced. I really sympathize with some of the innocent House of Assembly candidates that were sent to war with weapons and that led to their helpless retreat at the polls.
On the 5th of February, Federal High Court judgment sacked Ayogu Eze and issued a court order demanding an immediate recognition of Barr. G.T Ogara as the authentic governorship candidate and that wasn’t done. When we reached out to INEC on why Ayogu’s name was still on the list thereby disobeying the court order, we were made to understand that it is the duty of the party leadership to send the new names in cognizance to court order.
Ayogu Eze was finally expunged from the final publication of INEC list on the 4th of March, 2019 without inserting Ogara’s name but rather indicated court order/ party yet to submit name of candidates.
Judiciary is perceived as the last resolve of the common man, so I wonder why Party leadership did not obey court order that mandated them to effect changes in the INEC Guber list recognizing Ogara as the authentic candidate. The same party leadership assisted an obvious PDP Stalwart to secure judgment in the court of appeal against a known APC faithful.
Ayogu Eze’s appeal was argued in the Court of Appeal on the 5th of March after which the presiding justice announced to both parties and all present at the court that judgment will be given after the guber election on the 9th of March with no specific date given and that was it. Surprisingly, we suddenly got a notice that judgment has been rescheduled for 7th of March and of course we instantly perceived conspiracy.
To further confirm our suspicions, Ayogu who had billed to return on the 5th after the hearing in appeal court and messages sent out on all APC platform that he will be received at the airport (a plan I tag show of shame, a remorseless leader who still feel it was necessary that he be received with bought crowd even after he failed to deliver the president at Enugu polls), he suddenly had a change of plan, moved his return to the next day 6th of March.
A night before his return, a messages was passed through APC Enugu platform that Ayogu request for their members to converge at his Enugu premises on the 7th of March by 10am while appeal court judgment was billed for 9am while people should also be at the airport to receive him, they added that there will be lots of gift items. However this amounts to a clear case of preempting the ruling of the court judgment before it was delivered.
Lo and behold, his people received him at the airport on the 6th of March and they went straight to his home where they held a meeting to boycott Saturday’s election. Well they gathered at his residence on the 7th and immediately after the judgment was given in their favour with note that it was due to technicalities and not by merit, they swung into action and marched to INEC to constitute another show of shame; in fact this time with evil intent of indicting an innocent rector.
What a shame, Ayogu Eze! What have we done to deserve this from you? Ogara was the one who sent a message to all APC Enugu platforms informing everyone that Ayogu Eze’s appeal was successful, yet Ayogu up till now haven’t thought it wise to place a call to Ogara even after so many APC members especially from his team have openly advised him to do so.
What height of pride and inhumane attitude? Yet he is being assisted by our supposed National Chairman of APC, Adams! Now Adams let me ask you, are leaders allowed to take sides the way you do? Secondly have you ever made effort to call on the two Guber candidates to foster peace and it fails? Why do you have to disobey High Court order?
Why are you supporting a man that has never invested a dime against those that have invested so much to promote APC? What kind of leader are you, that with your experience in politics, you have to believe fabricated lies against an APC faithful and acting upon that?
Now that Ayogu has finally brought us shame, instead of us to allow the moles go back where they belong and start rebuilding, you people still want to rub it deeper on us by your horrible boycott plans, so it’s now all about Ayogu right? Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly hundred percent won by PDP, of what justification will Ayogu win election here in Enugu and even if you are planning to rig, how do you intend to defend such result?
Please, channel the guber campaign fund to rebuilding APC Enugu State because a ‘ruler’ like Ayogu Eze lack the leadership qualities to lead aright. Please don’t foist an inconsiderate ruler on innocent people of Enugu State; Tabugbo Ogara would have been a better option. I have encountered these two men and God can bear me witness that Ayogu will be worse than Rochas Okorocha. How can he sneak into our party, steal our mandate as well as snatched from over 60 percent of it from our worthy party faithfuls without dialogue?
Who will save APC ENUGU State? This question remains unanswered but the tough keep going.
GROpinion
Becoming a Green Shoot: Tribute to Frank Nweke II @ 60
Written by Dr. OMONIYI IBIETAN, special media advisor to then minister of information and national orientation (later information and communication), Mr. Frank Nweke Jr.


“Honourable Minister, where is the next port of call for you after the ministership?” I asked my principal in January 2007, as we commenced the final phase of his tenure at Radio House. “Niyi, I am going back to school.”, he responded with full metacommunication and paralinguistics, with a tincture of jocular appurtenances. Indeed, it came to pass. As soon as his tenure ended on May 29, 2007, he was off to the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in the United States.
Before Harvard, he attended good schools and was properly educated in Nigeria, a persistent reader, humanist, statesman, decidedly dedicated patriot, impeccable dresser, an organically organised thought leader, with rare personal effectiveness that finds the first expression in the fact that he was never late to a meeting. Okeifufe Frank Nnaemeka Nweke II, traditional leader of Ishi Ozalla, in Nkanu West Local Government Council of Enugu State, more popularly known as Frank Nweke Jr., (or still, FNJ as we call him in close circles), is a forthright, inimitable and phenomenal leader who continues to demonstrate that he is first and foremost human before becoming Igbo and Nigerian. But the Igbo republicanism, egalitarianism, enterprise, and industry run in his blood to the last mile, including the distinctive devotion, painstakingness and resolute nature of Ishi Ozalla people, a community noted for extraordinary commitment to trading (distinctively in animal protein) and particularly agriculture. Ozalla’s soil is largely ‘stony and granitic’. So, farmers in Ozalla would count among the most painstaking, devotional species. That is the spirit FNJ brought to bear on national assignments as Minister.
Scion of the Nweke family, FNJ is pedigreed. His archetype was his father, the family’s patriarch, Igwe Frank Nweke I, Okeifufe Napkparu Ujo Nku I, of Ishi Ozalla Born in Kano, raised across Nigeria, FNJ speaks Nigeria’s three major languages fluently, but his humanity extends to embrace people of languages he does not speak fluently. A princely prince through and through, FNJ is not just lovely. He is kind, convivial, empathetic, and communicative. Though sometimes reticent, he could take no prisoners and can be as fiery as Sango. Let me instantiate, FNJ’s fury. One day in 2006, he came into my office, a space on the other side of his, which I shared with all my assistants in a conference room style.
That day of rage and fury, FNJ came into the office, and everyone rose to greet him as usual. He responded so economically. We all sensed trouble. After taking a bird’s view of the room to be sure we were in order, his eyes were still full of fury, almost ready to spit fire like Sango. Then, he muttered: “Niyi, come with me.” The first time he had said so in almost a year. So, I followed him like a disciple. He did not tell me where we were headed, but when the tour was over, I knew why he was furious. He had complained a number of times about how some people deliberately held on to official files and delayed the turn around time of works and routine activities, and he had issued a directive that turnaround time was 48 hours except there were objective grounds for delays. He was emphatic that such delays must be reported to the Permanent Secretary or the Minister’s Office. So, we visited some offices that were notorious for keeping files. One after another, he barged in and asked: “Oga (Madam), tell me why files are delayed in your office unnecessarily.” You can imagine the panic and the speed with which affected officers rose from their seats. And before they could mutter a word, FNJ would end his mission with a warning: “Please, don’t let me come back here for the wrong reason.”
Let me quickly return to the arrangement of the media team I led. Because of what I wanted to achieve, I decided I would operate differently as a special media advisor to FNJ. So, I had no personal office but an expanded space for essentially some 10 people I supervised (there’s a spillover to the adjacent room where we had two secretaries). Seven of my supervisees were recruited directly by me (with FNJ’s permission) from the NYSC camp in the last week of their Orientational exercise. We also had a workstation for journalists who were attached to FNJ’s office as Minister of Information and National Orientation (later Information and Communication).
Those NYSC interns were my strikers. I resumed 7.00 am daily, and they were always in the office before me. So, by 8.00am, the press review was ready and emailed to FNJ. It was deliberate. I wanted FNJ to have an idea of key issues in the news media before he stepped out of his house. One day, Louis Odion came and saw how we operated and functioned. He was impressed. So, he told FNJ, “Honourable Minister, the operation of this space is novel. This is novel and should be news.” I thanked Mr. Odion so sincerely for his perceptiveness and compliment. A very brilliant journalist, Odion was the first person in newspapering to respond to the uniqueness of our idea.
But I had another temporary office at the State House as soon as the Avian Influenza broke out, and I issued at least one bulletin daily with FNJ’s imprimatur on the bird flu. At the risk of sounding immodest, we were at every theatre of public communication contexts. The population census, the creative economy, the Eclipse of the Sun, the seemingly intractable crisis in the Niger Delta, etc. in that pre-social media era.
A cherished friend, brother, and mentor, my fortuitous meeting with FNJ at the National Youth Summit in May 2004, shortly after I defended my MA Dissertation at the University of Ibadan, was a turning point in my life. He provided the nudge I required to partake in the upturn unfolding in Nigeria at that time. He was Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, Special Duties, and Youth Development. He took special interest in my contribution at the summit, looked out for me at the syndicate sessions, and later requested my mobile number. He rang my line two days after I arrived back in Ibadan and requested that I return to Abuja to be part of the 7-man committee emplaced to draft a youth policy for Nigeria. By the time the committee work was completed, I was enlisted among the 5-man team that represented Nigeria at the International Youth Festival organised by the Arab Republic of Egypt in El-Arish.
For those who are very discerning and able to recall, youth administration politics since the beginning of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic took a decisive and intriguing turn. I was a member of one of the radical tendencies of the Nigerian student movement represented by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). So, I was patently way off the curve of the emergent agency of the politically mainstreamed, supposedly liberal but sometimes sycophantic student/youth movements. So, while I do not know how other members of the team to Egypt made the list, I knew I was FNJ’s nominee. But I recalled a fami liar face in the Nigerian team, Dr. Umar Tanko Yakasai, a hitherto tenacious Northern star in NANS, who was studying medicine at the University of Maiduguri in the truculent days of Abacha. Umar had become the national secretary of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN).
We quickly bonded and formed a coded ‘minority group’ on the road to Egypt, an alliance that impacted the report of the conference we submitted to the Ministry after the Egypt journey. FNJ did not only accept our report, but he implemented it with speed. A central element of that report was the imperative of inclusiveness and expanding the geography of the democratic space for youth participation in governance through conscious self-activity; making entrepreneurship a component of education curricula, immersion of young people in the didactic experience of the emerging digital culture; and finally, the centrality of cultural intelligence in leadership.
As we left Egypt and headed to the ‘promised land’, I continued to relate with FNJ and I contacted him later that year when the organisers of the International Student Festival in Norway accepted my proposal to speak at the forum. He was not only excited about the information; he personally sponsored my trip. My relational exchanges with FNJ grew in leaps and bounds, and we discussed ideas frequently. Perhaps I was an aide incognito until December 2005 when I visited him at Radio House after an evening lecture. I was an instructor at the International Institute of Journalism, and he had become the Minister of Information and National Orientation (later Information and Communication). I visited him in the company of my brother and comrade, High Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu, whose office was in the same facility where I was teaching. During my next visit to FNJ, we had series and fragments of conversations and then lunched in his inner office.
Thereafter, we relocated to the main office and continued the conversation. His spiffy jacket hung appropriately on the coat tree hanger made of polished steel and leather; his tie readjusted to business style, and his sleeves rolled up the Obama way. As he took his seat, he asked me to sit too. Then, in a voice that took oxygen from both spiritual and temporal realms unequivocally immersed in serious tenor, he uttered: “Niyi, you are coming here as my Special Assistant on Media.” He did not wait for a response. Then, he called one of his secretaries: “Tony!” The man heard him, came into his office with his pen and paper to join us. “Niyi is going to join us here as my SA on Media. Do a letter to the President through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and request special approval.” Chief Ufot Ekaette was the SGF at that time. I requested time to consult, and he refused. He then recalled my contribution at the Women Development Centre, venue of the summit in 2004, where he first met me, and said his offer had provided a platform for me to make my views to reflect in government policies.
So, I stepped out of his office with his permission and quickly rang three people to seek their opinions. The first was Dapo Olorunyomi Olorunyomi (a principal mentor who particularly shaped my intellection in relation to my identity and role in social actions). The second was the late Prof. Alfred Opubor (Nigeria’s, possibly West Africa’s first professor of Mass Communication, who was my intellectual grandfather and mentor in the Nigeria Community Radio Coalition). The third was Dr. Olajide Ibietan (now a professor), my first consanguineous brother. I then returned to FNJ’s office and accepted the offer. Then, I mustered courage from residual strength and asked him when I should resume as his new SA Media. ‘Yesterday!’, he said magisterially.
That evening, I received a provisional letter of appointment from him. I then rang the Registrar of IIJ to discuss what had happened and proceeded to the office to write my resignation letter. I indicated the forfeiture of the monthly salary scheduled to be paid the day after, since I had served an emergency notice and was ready to leave the Institute immediately, although I continued to teach pro bono as my circumstances permitted.
The following day, I resumed at Radio House. The security personnel who had put me under ‘inquisition’ before granting me access to the Minister’s Office the evening before was the same man I met that morning. I greeted him, and before I could say I had come to resume duties, he said no one was around to attend to me. I told him I was appointed SA to the minister yesterday, and I already knew my office, so I did not need anyone to guide me. I then showed him the letter of provisional offer of appointment. God willing, I will capture in detail what transpired at Radio House in my memoirs.
For this moment, I would like to place on record, so history may bear witness that as Minister, FNJ demonstrated unconditional love for Nigeria. He discharged his duties with the most scrupulous conscientiousness of honour. He was offered citizenship of Atlanta, right in my presence in the United States, but he declined and invited his hosts to come to Nigeria first to receive Nigerian citizenship. He was so emphatic and unequivocal that Nigeria was the best place to be, and it was the reason we had visited the United States to market the Nigerian brand. On another occasion, I sat by him as he sat next to Dr. Christopher Kolade (Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom). We were at the Gallery of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom in 2007 during a public hearing on Nigeria. I could practically hear his heartbeat. He told me he believed Nigeria would not be blemished at that sitting, and it came to pass. Okeifufe’s faith in Nigeria has been as strong as it was. He never gave up on our country, and he continuously rekindled that faith in me. He resents bigotry. He has intolerance for atavism. He is nauseated by clannishness and nepotism. You won’t find him in the ranks of uneducated people who judge people first by their social status, ideological orientation, circumstances of birth, religion, and regional origin. He loves Igbos unashamedly, but he loves Nigeria in the true definition of the term. He stood (and still stands) out as a great exemplar of agile leadership, cultural intelligence, and our ebullient national spirit.
FNJ and I have no blood relationship. The last time I checked, I was still Yoruba from North Central Nigeria, whereas FNJ is Igbo from South East Nigeria. But he had three special assistants while he was Minister of Information and Communication, and none of us is Igbo. Of course, there were Igbos in our team, but I was clearly more visible. There were times people walked into my office and spoke Igbo. I would respond with the little proficiency I had acquired but would politely inform my visitors I do not speak Igbo beyond basic greetings and sociolects, although I understand the language much more than I speak it. Often, I noticed whiffs of shock in people’s countenances whenever they found that none of my parents is Igbo and I see people asked non-verbally: “How could an Igbo man appoint a non-Igbo to such a strategic desk?”
FNJ was not just a Minister of the Republic. He also acted in a manner that left imprints of Nigeria’s culture and pride, and thus, helped to repudiate negative perceptions about Nigeria. In one of our many visits to the United Kingdom, an Egyptian man who used to chauffeur us around London asked me on two occasions if FNJ was truly a minister in Nigeria. Of course, I responded in the affirmative. Then, the man retorted, “But Nigerian Ministers and government officials do not act like this in London”. “How do they behave?” I asked. And our man went on and on to characterise how our people often behaved and described FNJ as a rare Nigerian official. Frank Nweke Jnr was an exemplary national reputation manager, and the national brand management programme, “Nigeria: The Heart of Africa” project, provided the swivel to showcase Nigeria in a manner it was never done. From Washington to Toronto, London to Johannesburg and beyond, FNJ told the Nigerian story in impeccable narratives.
One day in Washington, we visited quite a number of places, including Voice of America (VOA) to speak about Nigeria. Hon. Sunday Dare was then Head of VOA Hausa Service. Then we arrived at a community radio station in the District. FNJ was so tired. When our consultant called on him to take his seat in the studio, he ordered me to takeover from him. The consultant was shocked, but FNJ ignored her. What happened at the station will be sweeter when gleaned from my memoirs.
Today, we have community radio stations in Nigeria because FNJ instituted the policy drafting processes when he was Minister of Information and Communication. We would have retained our status as the only West African (possibly African) country without community radio culture, against the spirit of the African Charter on Broadcasting. Fortuitously, the draft policy became our weapon of advocacy in the Nigeria Community Radio Coalition (NCRC) until President Jonathan approved 17 community radio licenses in 2015.
The foregoing suffices to say that FNJ pushed me beyond what I thought was my boundary. At the public presentation of my book, CYBER POLITICS: SOCIAL MEDIA, SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY, AND VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA, in July 2023, FNJ noted, “Dr. Ibietan was my special assistant on media when I was Nigeria’s minister of Information and National Orientation (later Information and Communication), His patriotism, creativity, intellection and devotion to continuous improvement in the Nigerian condition are rare. A scholar-activist with an uncommon spirit of innovativeness, especially in utilising new technology to address a social challenge. It was he who essentially popularised the use of new media in public communication in Nigeria while working with me. I remember how, using email, he disseminated government communication to far-flung places, both locally and internationally. That was before the advent of social media as we have them today.” I read and heard these words with teary eyes, but they spoke to FNJ’s generosity because it was he who drove me so crazily to go beyond the limits.
In 2014, my friend, Andy Green, autographed a copy of his book, THE UPTURN: YOUR PART IN ITS RISE (2009), and gave it to me. It was in Banjul, The Gambia, at the annual International Public Relations Congress, organised by Mazi Mike Okereke’s Business Education and Examination Council (BEEC). In the introductory part of Green’s book, ‘How nature creates green shoots’, the most philosophical public relations book I have read, he stated, “Even in nature it is mystery. No one knows exactly what is the spark. The starting signal is for a seed to start germinating and create a new seedling for becoming a green shoot.” As Green noted, to germinate, a seed will require water, ‘oxygen for energy’ and a modicum of temperature. Indeed, Green reasoned that seeds require particular conditions to germinate, including a possible transportation through an animal’s digestion system to weaken the seed’s coat and enable germination. My maker provided many conditions before me to germinate afresh, FNJ is principal among them.
Okeifufe Frank Nweke II, Happy Birthday, sir. May your days be longer and blissful.
Dear friends, join me to celebrate the 60th birth anniversary of one of Nigeria’s most culturally intelligent personalities and objectively one of her most vibrant ministers of information.
GROpinion
Guarding Democracy Beyond Sensationalism: Why the Resolutions of the Lagos State House of Assembly Should not be Politicized
By Olayiwola Rasheed Emmanuel


The Lagos State House of Assembly, under the firm leadership of Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, once again lived up to its constitutional responsibility on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, when it raised concerns over the worrying practice of political appointees assuming office without legislative confirmation.
To discerning minds, this was no political storm. It was not a rift, neither was it a quarrel between the Executive and the Legislature.
It was, in fact, the Lagos State Legislature performing its core duty under the Nigerian Constitution. Yet, to the surprise of many citizens, some online bloggers hurriedly framed the development with sensational captions such as “Political Storms Rage Again in Lagos State” or “Obasa Sets for Another Showdown with Sanwo-Olu.”
Such misleading framing does more harm than good. It distracts citizens from the essence of governance and creates an illusion of conflict where none exists. Worse still, it undermines the confidence of the people in their democratic institutions by peddling half-truths.
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is unequivocal on the requirement for legislative confirmation at the State level:
Section 192(2): “Any appointment to the office of Commissioner of the Government of a State shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the House of Assembly of the State, be made by the Governor of that State.”
Section 196(2): “The Governor shall appoint the Secretary to the Government of the State, Head of the Civil Service of the State, and Commissioners with the confirmation of the House of Assembly of the State.”
Section 126(2): “The Auditor-General for a State shall be appointed by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the State Civil Service Commission, subject to confirmation by the House of Assembly of the State.”
Section 4(7): further empowers a State House of Assembly to make laws for the peace, order, and good governance of the State.
Section 128(2)(b): authorizes the House to “expose corruption, inefficiency, or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence.”
Therefore, when the Lagos State House of Assembly insists that appointees must appear before it for confirmation, it is not engaging in political grandstanding. It is simply upholding the Constitution and safeguarding accountability.
So, one must ask:
Why should political meanings be hastily read into every resolution of the Lagos State House of Assembly whenever it discharges its lawful duties?
Why do certain online media outlets thrive on creating unnecessary friction between the Executive and Legislature; two arms of government that are, in fact, partners in governance under the doctrine of separation of powers?
Should the pursuit of online traffic and sensational headlines come at the expense of truth, clarity, and democratic education?
It is reckless and irresponsible journalism to reduce constitutional duties to mere political theatrics. When that happens, the media ceases to inform and instead begins to mislead, thereby weakening the public’s trust in institutions that exist to protect them.
It is no secret that across Nigeria’s thirty-six (36) States, most State Assemblies are considered mere extensions of the Executive. They lack independence, autonomy, and courage. Lagos State, however, stands tall as a remarkable exception, a Legislature with what can rightly be called “the uncommon standard.”
Are Lagosians not proud that their Legislature is not a puppet of the Executive?
Would citizens prefer a rubber-stamp Assembly that shirks its constitutional duty simply to avoid headlines of supposed “political rifts”?
Or is the discomfort, in reality, with the Speaker himself, a leader who deeply understands legislative business and boldly asserts the powers given to the Legislature by the Constitution?
Dr. Mudashiru Obasa is not just another politician; he is an inimitable legislative phenomenon. Experience, after all, counts in politics. As the saying goes: “The older the wine, the sweeter it becomes.”
From his days as a Councillor in 1999, to becoming a Member of the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2003, and serving continuously since then, Obasa has built a reputation as one of Nigeria’s most enduring lawmakers. His leadership has seen him serve as Speaker for three consecutive terms, a feat few can match, while also held the position of Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria.
Under his stewardship, the Lagos State House of Assembly has not only maintained its autonomy but has also risen to a global pedestal. Legislatures from other Nigerian States routinely come to Lagos to learn best practices. Parliaments from across Africa and beyond have sought collaboration, recognizing Lagos as a shining model of legislative independence.
This pedigree explains why Dr. Obasa is able to interpret legislative proceedings and exercise institutional powers with precision. It is not arrogance. It is experience, competence, and mastery of democratic governance.
To permanently address misinterpretations and enlighten citizens and journalists on democratic processes, I urge the Lagos State House of Assembly, under the leadership of Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, to sponsor a bill establishing an Institute of Democratic Governance.
If Lagos becomes the first State in Nigeria to create such an institute, it will solidify its leadership in democratic innovation. The institute would serve as a training ground for public officers, journalists, civil society groups, and ordinary citizens. It would also deepen public understanding of separation of powers, legislative authority, and accountability.
Such an institute would be a lasting legacy, reducing sensationalism, enhancing civic education, and ensuring Lagosians appreciate the true workings of democracy.
The Lagos State House of Assembly has neither exceeded its powers nor acted contrary to law by insisting on legislative confirmation of political appointees. On the contrary, it has fulfilled its sacred mandate.
The Legislature is not an enemy of the Executive; it is a constitutional partner. The Speaker and members of the House deserve commendation for defending the rule of law, not condemnation through misleading headlines.
As citizens, we should applaud a Legislature that sets the standard for accountability across Nigeria. After all, a democracy where Legislatures are weak is a democracy perpetually at risk.
Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa stands today as a testament to legislative excellence, a leader who has placed Lagos on the global map of democratic governance. His legacy, like fine wine, only grows richer with time.
*Olayiwola Rasheed Emmanuel is an Engineer, Poet, Journalist, Broadcaster, PR Strategist, Prolific Writer, and Politician. He was the Former Special Adviser on Environment, Information, and Civic Engagement to the immediate past Chairman of Agege Local Government.
GROpinion
HID Awolowo – Ten Years After, The Matriarch Who Defined a Generation
BY Sir Folu Olamiti FNGE


Ten years after her passing, the name Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo still evokes images of grace, grit, and quiet power.
Known affectionately as HID, she was more than the wife of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the legendary nationalist and statesman.
She was a formidable figure in her own right, a trader-turned-industrialist, a strategist, a political bridge-builder, and the steady compass that kept one of Nigeria’s most consequential political movements from capsizing in stormy waters.
This is not merely a story of a dutiful wife, it is a story of a woman who used her own agency to help rewrite Nigeria’s history. She was a heroin
Born on November 25, 1915, in the quiet town of Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State, HID was the only surviving child of her parents, a pattern that traced back through generations and perhaps shaped the tenacity that defined her life.
Her early years were spent between classrooms and market stalls, learning arithmetic by day and shadowing her mother on trading trips by dusk.
These formative experiences did more than put food on the table, they equipped her with commercial savvy that would later fund political revolutions.
She met a young Obafemi Awolowo in the late 1930s in Ibadan. Their courtship carried out through carefully written love letters culminated in a modest wedding in 1937. From the very beginning, their partnership was built on shared ambition and mutual sacrifice.
She set aside her own career dreams to support his, embracing the role of homemaker and back-room strategist while he pursued law studies in London.
When Awolowo left for England in 1944, he entrusted HID with £20 for family upkeep. In an act that would later become family legend, she ignored his instruction not to trade and invested the entire sum in foodstuffs.
The profits not only sustained the family but also allowed her to send remittances to her husband, funds that kept him afloat as a struggling student.
Upon his return, HID expanded her trading ventures into full-fledged enterprises, Dideolu Stores, Ligu Distribution Services, and distributorships for tobacco and brewery products.
These businesses were far from ornamental, they were profit-spinning ventures that underwrote Awolowo’s political campaigns and financed the founding of The Nigerian Tribune in 1949.
By the 1960s, HID had become one of the most successful female industrialists of her time, combining sharp business instincts with frugal discipline.
HID’s real test came during Nigeria’s most turbulent political years. When Awolowo was jailed in 1962 on treason charges, HID became the unflinching face of the Awolowo political dynasty. She attended court sessions religiously, delivered meals to her husband in prison, managed the family businesses, and kept the Action Group’s political machinery running despite state harassment.
Her courage was not merely symbolic. She stood on podiums across the Western Region, broom in hand, rallying supporters to “sweep away the dirt” of misrule. In 1964, she even contested an election in her husband’s stead, demonstrating that her political credentials were not honorary but earned.
Tragedy deepened her burdens when their first son, Segun, one of his father’s legal defenders died in a car crash. Yet she refused to retreat into private grief.
Instead, she became even more committed to the causes she and her husband shared, education, social welfare, and good governance.
Those who encountered HID often spoke of her poise and faith. She was calm yet firm, deeply religious yet pragmatic, and fiercely loyal to her family. Awolowo famously attributed his success to three things, “the Grace of God, Spartan self-discipline, and a good wife.” That wife would go on to hold chieftaincy titles including Yeye Oba of Ile-Ife and the custom-created Yeye Oodua, a recognition of her status as mother figure to the Yoruba nation.
Even after Awolowo’s death in 1987, HID continued to chair the Nigerian Tribune and serve as the anchor of the Awolowo Foundation, ensuring that her husband’s legacy of progressive politics was preserved for future generations.
On September 19, 2015, HID passed away just weeks before her 100th birthday. Her burial in Ikenne drew presidents, governors, monarchs, and ordinary Nigerians who saw in her a symbol of integrity and resilience. The celebrations were not just of a life well-lived but of a life that continues to inspire.
Her legacy endures through the HID Awolowo Foundation, which promotes women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, and through the generations of leaders she mentored and inspired, including her grandson-in-law, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
A decade later, HID Awolowo’s story remains strikingly relevant. At a time when many lament the shrinking space for principled leadership and women’s participation in public life, her example offers hope. She proved that one could be a wife, a mother, a business mogul, and a political force without compromising integrity.
Her life challenges today’s generation to embrace resilience over resignation, enterprise over dependency, and courage over complacency.
HID’s quiet power was not in loud rhetoric but in unwavering consistency, an attribute Nigeria’s political class could learn from.
Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo was more than a historical figure, she was a living institution. Her nearly 100 years on earth bridged pre-colonial, colonial, and post-independence Nigeria, making her a witness and participant in the making of the nation.
Ten years after her transition, she remains, in the words of Harvard scholar Prof. J.K. Olupona, “the archetypal mother who guided the collective lived experience of the Yoruba nation.”
Her story is not just about the past, it is a roadmap for the future for every Nigerian woman who dares to dream, for every leader who seeks to govern with vision, and for every citizen who longs for a nation built on courage, discipline, and faith.
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